U.S. Representative Dennis
Rehberg and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Announce Public Hearing and
Meetings Regarding the Proposed Critical Habitat Designation for Canada
Lynx
Scheduled for Montana

Kalispell, Helena, and
Great Falls Locations

The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service will host a public hearing on Tuesday, January 10, 2006
at the Westcoast Kalispell Center, 20 North Main Street, Kalispell,
Montana to provide an opportunity for the public to comment on a proposal
by the Service to designate critical habitat for Canada lynx in
northwestern Montana and other parts of the species’ range in the lower 48
states. The hearing will begin at 6:00 pm with a brief informal
presentation and discussion followed by formal public testimonies until
8:00 pm. Written comments will also be accepted at the hearing.

In addition to the
public hearing, the Service has also scheduled public meetings on January
4, 2006 at the Lewis and Clark Public Library, 120 South Last Chance
Gulch, Helena, Montana and January 5, 2006 at the Townhouse Inn, 1411 10th
Avenue South, Great Falls, Montana. These meetings will be informational
open houses with a presentation followed by a question-and-answer session
and will run from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. The public can provide written
comments at these meetings.

These additional
informational meetings were scheduled in response to a request from U.S.
Representative Dennis Rehberg (Montana – At Large) on behalf of Montanans
interested in the proposed critical habitat and conservation status of
Canada lynx.

"Montanans
deserve a fair chance to actively participate in the discussion. I
appreciate the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service realizing the importance of
public involvement by providing more opportunities for Montanans to
participate” said Representative Rehberg. Considering the large number of
Montana counties affected by this proposal, it is important that Montanans
have adequate opportunity to obtain additional information on this issue."

“The Service believes
that the proposed critical habitat designation for Canada lynx is an
appropriate approach that acknowledges conservation activities currently
underway on Federally-managed lands throughout the lynx’s range,” said
Mitch King, Acting Regional Director of the Service’s Mountain-Prairie
Region. “We appreciate Congressman Rehberg’s interest in the conservation
of Canada lynx and his efforts to help ensure Montanans are fully informed
about the proposed critical habitat designation for this species,” King
said.

The Service proposed
critical habitat for the Canada
lynx on November 9 in compliance with a court order. The proposal
encompasses approximately 26,935 square miles of land in portions of
northern Maine, northeastern
Minnesota, the northern Rocky Mountains (northwestern Montana
and a small portion of northern
Idaho), and the Okanogan area of the northern Cascades in north-central
Washington.

The area in Montana
under consideration includes approximately 10,760 square miles in portions
of Flathead, Glacier, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Lincoln,
Missoula, Pondera, Powell, and TetonCounties. This value reflects
National Forest lands that have not been proposed for designation.

The Canada lynx was
listed in 2000 as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
throughout its range in the contiguous United States. The lynx currently
lives in boreal forests in five geographic regions: the Northeast, the
Great Lakes, the Northern Rocky Mountains, the Southern Rocky Mountains,
and the Cascade Mountains. The Service is proposing to designate areas in
four of these regions as critical habitat.

Areas proposed as
critical habitat for the Canada
lynx include boreal forest landscapes that provide beneficial habitat
elements for the lynx, including snowshoe hares for prey and sufficient
woody debris for use as den sites. All proposed areas have recent verified
records of lynx occurrence and reproduction and thus are considered
occupied.

Public comments on
the proposed rule will be accepted until February 7, 2006. Written
comments can be submitted via e-mail to
FW6_lynx@fws.gov or mailed to Montana Field Office, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 100 N. Park Avenue, Suite 320, Helena, Montana 59601.

The Service is
preparing a draft economic analysis of the proposed critical habitat that
will be released for public review and comment at a later date.

The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for
conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their
habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service
manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which
encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and
other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish
hatcheries, 63 Fish and Wildlife Management offices and 81 ecological
services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws,
administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird
populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and
restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments
with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance
program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes
on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.